Mating Season
by LoseItQuick
Summary: post time paradox... It is mating season and holly's in a dilemma, the most annoying and conceited fairy she knows is wooing her and she cant seem to get rid of him...more importantly she realises that she might feel for Artemis as more than just a friend


Mating season

Holly Short looked at the red roses in her hand and sighed. She opened her door, walking into her house and throwing the red flowers onto the ground. These few months had been torture for her, she who had fought of trolls, goblins and demons, and had gotten the fairy world out of exceedingly sticky situations, could not, I repeat could not handle mating season.

It was bad enough that she had been considered a challenge among the male fairies (credits to her good looks and the fact that she had never dated), but of all the millions of fairies out there it had to be _him_ who wooed her. It wasn't that _he_ was ugly; _he_ was quite good looking in fact but _he _just happened tobe the most conceited and annoying fairy she knew.

_He _was the type of guy who only worked out only to show off his large muscles and did not even dare to do what holly had done countless of times before, visit the surface of the earth._ If _she ever were to fall for a guy, he was the last guy both above and under ground she would fall for.

She had been walking home for work when he had ambushed her with the roses and hisever-so-annoying chatter. Luckily for her she managed to convince him not to come into her house and visit her tomorrow for her birthday instead. She wished she could get rid of him but he was Commander Root's only nephew and she felt guilty every time the thought occurred to her. It really was Foaly's fault that she was in this mess; he had introduced Caecilius to her in the hopes of her finding a mate this year.

"_I guess he is going to get his hopes crashed then" _she muttered aloud, followed by a string of profanities as she accidentally hit the side of the sofa. Cursing the centaur again, she plopped down onto the sofa and stared at the surface of the glass table in front of her. Her eyes studied the reflection before it and found its attention caught by its golden orb.

She was instantly reminded of her old friend Artemis. It has been a year since they last met and she could not help missing him and his adventures .She was growing bored of the minor crimes she was handling now. Work could never be the same after all that she had gone through. She missed the adrenaline coursing through her veins, the incessant flutter of nerves every time she took a risk and most of all she missed the relief and joy of having saved at least one life.

Looking at the golden eye once again she could not help but think that it was beautiful. Fairies never had topaz eyes so it had become quite a topic amongst them, many had praised her countless times on how beautifully both emerald-green and golden orbs matched. At that thought she was immediately reminded of last year's events.

When, she had _kissed _him. A warm sensation trailing down her spine followed that thought as she reached up to tough her lips. She still could not quite believe that SHEhad _kissed_ him. What was all the more surprising was the fact that he had never teased her about it; he had just let the matter drop.

Of course she had convinced both of them and the people around her that she hadn't meant anything by it, but she could not help thinking that she might have. Immediately she blocked out that thought.

"_He is one of the Mud People_," she reminded herself, "and_ anyway cross-species mating had never been heard of, especially with the Mud People."_

But then again, no Mud Person dead or alive has ever accomplished what Artemis has. And there was little doubt that she felt for him as more than just a friend. What else could explain the bolt of excitement that flashed through her every time he called her, the blush that never failed to appear on her cheeks every time he commented on her looks and the smile unraveling every time he said her name?

Her head pounded from everything anguish she felt as the contradicting thoughts bounced off the inside of her skull, leaving most of it black and blue. She groaned out loud, Mating Season was proving more difficult than she originally thought.


End file.
